Wire-stretcher.



No. 702,648. Patented June' 17, |902.

l E. 'M HAND. WIRE. STRETCHER.

(Application led Aug. 15, 1901.) (No Model.)I

jms Nonnls PETERS ou.' PNcmxLlTl-lo.. wAsHlNcrrou. D. c.

. '1'5 f Y forcing' the-same forwardto obtain a new UNITD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD M.`HAND, OF Oiainrrr,l SOUTH DAKOTA.

s PEoIFioArIoN arming part ofrpetters raten@ No. 7o2,648,'c v1ated-1 me 17p; 1902,.- 4

Application filed August 15, 19(`)1'l Serial No. 72,151. .(No'model.) l l n T a/ZZ whom it mall/concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD M. HAND,a citizen of the United States, residing at Orient, in the county of Faulk and State of South Dakota, have invented a new and useful Wirep Stretcher, of which the following is aspeciii.. cation.

This invention relates lto Wire-stretcherS, and has for its Object to providean improved device of this character which is arranged to have a step-by-step `stretching, operation, so

' las to conveniently and eftectually take up the slack in barbed or other wire fences.

A further object resides in providing for automatically releasing one of the clamps and hold whilel the otherl clamp is being moved l inthe opposite directionto stretch thewire andalso to insure a comparatively tight grip "of the clamps when there is Vno tension upon v the device, soas to prevent accidental dis-- placement of the wire fromthe clamps.

' A final object resides in providing for convention.

of the broken wire.

veniently mounting the deviceupon a postl or other support and also to arrange for using the deviceas amid-wire take-up where there is no other support than the wire. y

Withthese and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement offparts,`as will be -herejin'after more fully described, shown -in :the

accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made y rLike characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of4 the drawings.

1 Referringto the accompanying drawings,1 .5

designates a lever formed by ametal bar, which has oneje'nd shapedinto a suitable handle 2, and its opposite end is provided with` l three? openings, designated., respectively, 3,

4, and 5. VIn the intermediate openingli there v is engaged a terminal hook 6, whichI is 'carrieti-by a' chain 7, which latterjis provided' Awith an interniediatejhook -8 and a terminal Vwire-clamp 9. :Located wholly atene-side of the lever are the rodslO and 11,'of -which the rod 10 at the end of. the leverissomewhat shorter .than the otherrod, and these rods are provided with thevrespective terminalhooks 12vand 13 for detachable connection with the vopeni'ngsin the lever and to providepivotal description'of one clamp is deemed suicient.

`Each clam pcomprises a relativelyaixed bodyV member 14',which has a rearlaterally-project ed perforate ear 15, through*which-thev-adja- Jcent rod is slidably received. "The opposite outer end of the clamp-bodyis provided with a bowed laterally-offset j aw 16, with the'inner side Offwhich cooperates a movable 'clamp member 17 in the form of a dogor 'campivotally mounted upon the side of the' body and having a projection 18, located substantially dia- `metrically opposite the active lrounded edge of the dog and to which ispivotallyconnected Sofi the outer end of the adjacentrod, whereby 5 the dog is controlled by the-rod to open and Aclose the'clamp. Asplainlyillustrated in Fig. 1, it will be seen that the twoclamps are 4reversely arranged, or, to be more correct, are arranged back to back or faceto face.

each rodandin rear of the clam-p there is` provided an adjustable,stoplshoulder 19,

yformed byavlcollar, which is slidable longi tudinally upon the rodandvis provided with a set-screw 2O for the purpose of tixedly holding the collar at -any desiredadjustment` upon I the rod. A` helical spring 21embracesthe rod and has its ends bearing in opposite directions against the collarand the rear end or ear 15 of the clamp, thereby to yieldably hold the dog in clamped relation with respect to the`jaW-l6. By this arrangementof spring the clamp is normallyA closed, so` asv to insure a comparatively tight gripupon thestretcher, and thus accidental displacement-ot' the'wi're is prevented'. v

In the-operation of the device the chain is i secured to a supportf-asjor instance, a post 22-and the two clamps are engaged with a wire 23, after which the lever is worked back and forth upon its fulcrum-support formed by the hook G, thereby alternately moving the clamps in opposite directions to stretch the wire with a step-by-step movement. When the free end of the lever is moved in the direction of the arrow, the clamp connected to the short rod at the opposite end of the lever is moved to stretch the wire and the other clamp is moved in the opposite direction to slide the same along the wire and to obtain a new grip. lt will here be noted that the movement of the lever is sufficient to overcome the resistance of the spring 21, and thereby open the clamp to permit of the latter being readily moved upon the wire, and when the lever is at rest the pressure of the spring causes the dog to firmly bind the wire between itself and the fixed jaw, so as to obviate displacement of the wire from the clamp.

It will here be noted that there is a slidable connection between the body of each clamp and the connecting-rod, whereby the dog or clamp member l7is initially operated by the rod, so as to grip and release the wire prior to a bodily movement of the clamp. In other words, by reason of the independent initial movement of one of the clamp members the wire is gripped before there is any movement of the entire clamp to stretch the wire, and the clamp is released from the wire before the entire clamp is pushed forwardly lo take a new grip.

While it is preferable to employ the spring 21, it will of course be understood that it may he omitted, as it is supplemental to the rod 11 for maintaining the clamp member in cooperative relation with the other clamp member.

Should it he desired to draw opposite wire sections toward each other, the, terminal clamp i) of the chain, which is substantially the same as the other clamps, is connected to one of the wire sections so as to form an anchorage for the stretcher, and then the other clamps are applied to the opposite wire section, and the stretching operation is accomplished in the mannerhereinbefore described, whereby the two wires may be conveniently drawn toward each other for convenience in splicing or to secure both wires to the same post.

In order that barb-wire may not hang in the clamp portion 16, the outer or forward end thereof is flared or bell-shaped, as indicated in the drawings, so as to form an entrance-opening for the barbs and to obviate catching of the latter in the forward edge of the clamp, as will be clearly understood by reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings. It will here be noted that the overhanging portion 16 also forms a guard or guide to embrace the wire and prevent displacement of the clamp when it is being slid forward to obtain a new grip upon the Wire.

From the foregoing description itis apparent that the present invention provides an exceedingly simple, inexpensive, and durable barbed or other wire stretcher which can be conveniently applied and operated to effectually stretcha wire without exposing the hand of the operator to injury by the barbed wire being stretched, and when not in use the several parts of the device may be convenient-ly detached for convenience in storage and transportation.

Vhat I claim is 1. Awire-stretcher, comprisingaleverhaving an intermediate fulcrum, long and short connecting-arms pivotally connected to the lever at opposite sides of the fulcrum and projected laterally at one side thereof, terminal clamps slidably carried by the outer ends of the respective connecting-rods, each clamp having a movable member which is connected to the outer end of the adjacent rod, and springs to normally hold the movable members in coperative relation with the other members of the respective clamps.

2. A wire-stretcher having a connectingrod, a wire-clamp comprising a body having a rear laterally-projected perforate ear slidably receiving the rod, and a forward laterally-projected jaw, a dog pivoted intermediate of its ends upon the body and in operative relation to the jaw, the rod being pivotally connected to the opposite end of the dog, a shoulder upon the rod and in rear of the clamp-body, and a helical spring einbracing the rod and bearing in opposite directions against the shoulder and the rear end of the clamp-body.

3. A wire-stretcher, comprisinga lever having an intermediate fulcrum, long and short connecting-rods pivotally connected to the lever at opposite sides of the fulcrum thereof and projected laterally at one side of the 1cver, terminal clamps .slidably carried by the outer ends of the respective connecting-rods,

each clamp having a movable member which is connected to the outer end of the adjacent rod, and springs carried by the rods and bearing in opposite directions against the latterand the rear ends of the respective clamps.

4. A wire-stretcher, comprising a wireclamp having a laterally-projected jaw, which is provided at its outer end with an 0ver hanging portion to form a wire embracing guide or guard, the forward end of the guide or guard being outwardly iiared to form an enlarged entrance-opening, a dog pivoted intermediate of its ends upon the jaw with its inner end working between the jaw and the overhanging portion thereof, and in coperative relation with the back of said overhanging portion, and a connecting-rod slidably carrying the clamp and connected to the outer end of the dog. y

5. A wire-stretcher comprising a lever, a chain or the like pivotally connected to an intermediate portion of the lever and forming a fulcrum-support therefor, a terminal TID wire-clamp .carried by thefree end of the chain, a comparatively short rod pivotally connected to the lever at one side of the fulcrum, a longer rod pivotally connected to the lever at the opposite side of the fulcruxn thereof, said rods being projected at the same side of the lever; Wire-clamps carried by the outer free endsA of the rods, each clamp comprising a relatively Xed bodyl slidably receiving the adjacent rod and provided with a laterally-projected jaw, and an intermediately-pivoted dog in cooperative relation'to the jaw, the outer end of the rod being piv- 

